2017/18 President's round up

We entered this year with a great deal of ambition and drive to make this one of the best years for the club yet, and it’s safe to say that this has been made more than possible thanks to the hard work of the 2017/18 exec, the continued hard work of the new exec and of course with all the help from our members; we are ending this year with many more achievements under our belt, however have retained our identity as one of the most fun, inclusive and vibrant clubs at Warwick University.

As well as maintaining our brilliant members from previous years, recruitment was a huge success for Mixed Hockey; with a rebranded website, a strong social media presence, strong pitches at sports fair, excellent taster sessions and the general friendly atmosphere Mixed Hockey provides, our membership increased this year by an incredible 38%, making us one of the biggest clubs in Team Warwick. With more people on the pitch, and at times an astonishing number of people at circle, it’s safe to say that this provided a challenge for the club but a challenge that was readily welcomed; and indeed, training sessions were consistently enjoyable, socials were better than ever and renowned around the university as well as giving us the opportunity to submit two teams into the Reading League, the first time in the history of Mixed Hockey that this has been possible. ‘Team Red’ and ‘Team Black’ performed exceptionally well, especially with the intake of new and extremely able players, and we ended up with a 1st and 2nd place finish in the League.

Charity also thrived this year; we entered into a new relationship with Coventry Haven, a domestic violence charity based in Coventry, and have managed to raise £1007.05 for their refuge centres over the year through a variety of events – fresher’s pledges for the alumni, a clothes sale, a quiz, the continuation of our amazing crossover week with Mixed Netball and selling wristbands and Pimms at one our matches. This vital work has not only allowed Coventry Haven to provide ten beds for their refuge centres, but we have also played a key role in raising awareness in the university for domestic violence, forced marriage, honour based violence and FGM. Our president, charities secretary, and a couple of Club members appeared on RAW1251am to discuss both our work and the work that Coventry Haven do, as well as publishing informative material to our social media. Further to this, Mixed Hockey were the biggest fundraisers in world-record attempt to build the World’s Largest Blanket Fort, not only smashing the world record but also raising £1003 for Leamington Night Shelter, bringing our overall charity total for the 2017/18 academic year to £2010.05, an incredible achievement.

Some of the best memories this year were made on our Domestic and International Tours; this year Mixed Hockey took 40 people to Manchester for a weekend of mayhem and team bonding as well as flying over 30 people to Albufeira in Portugal. We also held our annual inter-university ‘Tournamental’ event, and with attendance from Reading Mixed Hockey and our alumni it was certainly a weekend to remember with inter-club bonding in Kasbah as well as on the pitch.

This year is certainly ending on a high with the making of some Mixed Hockey history; the annual match of Mixed Men’s vs Men’s Hockey 4’s took place with a stunning 3-0 victory for our boys, a brilliant achievement for us. Further to this, for the first year ever Mixed Hockey was able to put a whole team of ladies for a match against Ladies Hockey 3’s. Despite a 2-0 loss for us, we are thrilled with this symbolic achievement which reflects how our female engagement and involvement has increased over the year, and also reflecting our efforts to make the club as inclusive and encouraging an environment as possible. For both matches, the achievement, improvement, and passion of our members was evident.

The 2018/19 exec have big and exciting plans for the coming year, but this is certainly built on the success of this amazing year. Big thank you to our members, hope you have an amazing summer – and to those graduating, all the luck in the world. You have helped to make Mixed Hockey one of the best experiences of university, and will be sorely missed.
​
Mary and Linesy xxx